Oil well bailer line measuring device



Aug. 28, 1945. BQUSLQG 2,383,844

OIL WELL BAILER LINE MEASURING DEVICE Filed NOV. 2, 1942 /7 INVENTOR.

Jay/v 5005409 Patented Aug. 28, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OIL WELL BAILER LINE MEASURING DEVICE John G. Bouslog, Compton, Calif.

Application November 2, 1942, Serial No. 464,191

7 Claims.

This invention relates to oil well production equipment, and particularly pertains to an oil well bailer line measuring device.

In the development ofoil wells, a well casing is set and before and after the pumping equipment is installed it sometimes occurs that sand and other debris accumulates in the bottom of the well casing. When this occurs it is necessary to bail out this extraneous material, usually by lowering a suction bailer into the well casing on a line and gathering the material and elevating it from the well until the well casing is cleaned out to its original depth. In doing this it is usual to run the line over the derrick and the crown block and to string the line so that as repeated trips of the bailer are made into and out of the hole the progress of the bailing operation can be ascertained. It is to be understood that the term string the line means that after the bailer has been lowered into the hole to a point where it rests upon the debris, strings are tied around the bailer line at predetermined intervals of five feet or more so that the amount of line being fed into the hole may be known at all times. This operation is slow and often inaccurate, and it is desirable to provide some metering means in connection with the bailer line so that the depth at which the bailer is operating may be instantly ascertained. It is the principal object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a portable structure which may be mounted upon the well casing, set in the well, and through which the sand line may be threaded and the bailer introduced into the casing for the purpose of being lowered on the sand line, said structure including means whereby the amount of line paid out as it is lowered into the well may be measured constantly and indicated on a meter, thus making it possible to instantly ascertain the depth to which the bailer has reached and the relation of the bailer to the original bottom of the well bore.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a structure adapted to be mounted upon the tubing head of a well casing and through which structure a sand line may be threaded, said structure carrying means whereby the amount of line passing into the hole may be measured and carrying means whereby the line may be gripped and held when the bailer is inserted into the well casing and at times when readings are to be made.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows the application of the present invention to a well rig.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in vertical section and elevation showing the metering structure mounted on the tubing head and indicating by dotted and solid lines the two positions of the traction wheel.

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation showing the device as seen in the direction of the arrows 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view in horizontal section and elevation showing the line clamping mechanism.

' Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section showing the manner in which the counter sheave and the traction sheave engage the line.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, l0

indicates a well casing upon which a tubing head II is mounted. This tubing head is formed at its upper end with a counterbore I2 having an undercut seat 13. Disposed at inclinations to the wall of the counterbore portion are threaded openings M which receive clamping screws l5. Resting upon the seat l3 and fitting within the counterbore I2 is an enlarged tapered portion l6 of a base IT. The screws l5 engage the tapered face of the base and detachably clamp the base in position. The base is substantially cylindrical and is formed with a central vertical bore l8 therethrough. The wall of the base is formed with a radial opening I!) which extends entirely through the side wall and the portion l6 and communicates with the bore 18. The width of this opening is designed to accommodate the sand line 20 on which a bailer 2| is hung. Extending upwardly from the base I! at one side of the bore I8 is an arm 22. the upper end of which is offset with relation to the vertical axis of the base i! and carries a bearing 23. The bearing 23 provides a support for a shaft 24 upon which is mounted a counter sheave 25. The shaft is keyed to the sheave and at its outer end is formed with a head portion 26 having a transverse groove 21 across the end face thereof. The groove 21 receives a transverse key 28 of a counter shaft 29. The counter shaft is associated with a revolution counter 30 of any desired construction, the dials of which are calibrated with relation to the diameter of the sheave 25, so that a direct reading in feet and fractions thereof may be made as the line 20 is fedinto the well bore. As shown in Fig. -5 of the drawing, the circumference of the sheave 25 is formed with a groove 3|. This groove is designed to receive one wrap of the line 20 and to also accommodate a circumferential lift 32 of traction sheave 33. This insures that while the sand line 20 is wrapped around the sheave it will frictionally' engage the same so that normally the sheave 25 will positively rotate in direct relation to the feed of the sand line. If, however, some emergency arises which would require that the sand line should slip with relation to the sheave 25 then this would be possible. In order to insure that the sand line when fed will track along the groove 3|, the circumferential flange 32 and faces 34 of the traction sheave are designed to yieldably hold against the wrapped portion of the line within the groove. This .is accomplished due to the fact that the traction sheave 33 is mounted upon an eccentric shaft 35 having trunnions 35. The trunnions 36 extend through bearings 31 and may be set in locked position by nuts 38 threaded onto the opposite ends of the trunnions. The bearing 31 is mounted preferably upon a swinging arm 39- carried by a pivot pin 40 on 9. lug 4| of the upright bracket 22. A tension spring 42 is secured to the bracket and to the arm 39, so that when the outer connection of the spring passes over dead-center of the pivot 40 the traction sheave 33 will be held yieldably against the line, as seen in Fig. 5. When the arm 39 is swung to its other position, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the spring 42 will hold the arm against a stop screw 43 carried upon a lug 44. This lug is mounted on the upright 22.

In order to insure that the sand line will be held against movement and that the counter will not be disturbed while the sand line is being placed around the counter wheel, a pair of grip members 45 and 46 are provided and mounted upon the upper end of the body member ll. One end of these grip members has a hinge portion to receive a in 41 which projects upwardly from the wall of the body member I! and provides a pivot for both of the member 45 and 46. These elements are slightly yieldable and are disposed one at each side of the sand line 20. The outer ends of the grip members are curved out slightly and may be simultaneously grasped to force them together and to force them to engage the sand line 20 and to hold it. It will be seen that when the bailer is in place and the structure is mounted upon the tubing head the grip members 45 and 46 may be released to allow the sand line to pass freely down into the well casing.

In operation of the present invention the sand line is led over the crown block of a derrick or over the mast of a pumping rig from a suitable hoisting drum. It is then wrapped around the sheave 25 and attached to the bailer 2|. The gripping members 45 and 46 are then grasped to hold the line 20 so that it will not rotate the sheave 25 and disturb the reading on the counter 30. The bailer 2| is then passed down into the casing I and the base I! is set to rest upon the seat [3 of the tubing head ll. During this time the gripping members 45 and 46 are still being held. The screws I are then tightened to engage the enlarged portion 16 of the base I1, after which the gripping elements 45 and 46 are released so that the sand line 20 may be fed down into the well as it is paid out by the hoisting mechanism. It will be understood that previous to this operation the exact depth of the well is ascertained and the approximate level of the top of the obstructing material. In view of having previously obtained this knowledge, it is possible to rapidly run the bailer into the hole until the approximate level of the obstruction is reached, as indicated by readings on the counter 36.

When this level is reached the bailer will come to rest upon it. It is then usual to. tie a string around the sand line at a selected point above the sheaves 25 and 33 to indicate the top of the obstructing material. Bailing operation may then be continued as desired, and if necessary the measuring structure may be removed from the well completely and taken to other wells for similar operations. The structure is self-aligning. This is due to the fact that the measuring wheel is disposed with its circumference substantially tangent to the vertical center line of the tubing or casing over which it is mounted so that the length of cable extending down into the well bore will be disposed centrally of the bore, and for the additional reason that the upper portion of cable leading to the measuring line from the crown block can easily adapt itself to the action of the cable as it passes over the crown block and may move laterally therealong. Furthermore, it is obvious that since the base Portion ll of the measuring wheel support is mounted on a seat concentrically disposed with relation to the tubing head I I, and that the measuring wheel is oilset so its circumference will be substantially tangent to the vertical center line through the tubing head, the base portion with its arm 22 may rotate around the central axis of the tubing head to adapt the measuring wheel 25 to the aligned position of the cable 20 as it is led over the crown block.

It will thus be seen that the device here disclosed provides simple and effective means which may be mounted directly over the bore of a well to operate with lines running in and out of the well and by which the line may be measured as desired, the structure being portable and not liable to get out of order.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known to me, it will be understood that various changes may be made in combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with an oil well casing; a supporting element on the upper end thereof, a line measuring device detachably mounted on said supporting element and through which a line may be threaded to permit a well tool to be raised and lowered thereby, and a clamp carried by said line measuring device for temporarily holding said line against movement.

2. A boiler line measuring device, comprising a base structure adapted to be detachably mounted over the upper end of a well casing, a counter wheel rotatably supported by said base structure and around which a bailer line is wrapped, spaced circumferential flanges on said wheel and between which said line is wrapped, a counter associated with said wheel, a traction wheel mounted upon the base structure and having a circumferentially extending flange adapted to project between the wrapped convolutions of the bailer line on the counter wheel, and means yieldably supporting the traction wheel in its engaged position.

3. A bailer line measuring device, comprising a base structure adapted to be detachably mounted over the upper end of a well casing, a counter wheel rotatably supported by said base structure and around which a bailer line is wrapped, spaced circumferential flanges on said wheel and between which said line is wrapped, a counter associated with said wheel, a traction wheel mounted upon the base structure and having a circumferentially extending flange adapted to project between the wrapped convolutions of the bailer line on the counter wheel, and means yieldably supporting the traction wheel in its engaged position or in a disengaged position whereby the traction wheel may be moved to a disengaged position and yieldably held.

4. A bailer line measuring device, comprising a base structure adapted to be detachably mounted over the upper end of a well casing, a counter wheel rotatably supported by said base structure and around which a bailer line is wrapped, spaced circumferential flanges on said wheel and between which said line is wrapped, a counter associated with said wheel, a traction wheel mounted upon the base structure and having a circumferentially extending flange adapted to project between the wrapped convolutions of the bailer line on the counter wheel, and means for adjusting the traction wheel to accommodate bailer lines of difierent diameters.

5. A bailer line measuring device, comprising a base structure adapted to be detachably mounted over the upper end of a well casing, a counter wheel rotatably supported by said base structure and around which a bailer line is wrapped, spaced circumferential flanges on said wheel and between which said line is wrapped, a counter associated with said wheel, a traction wheel mounted upon the base structure and having a circumferentially extending flange adapted to project between the wrapped convolutions of the bailer line on the counter wheel, and means carried upon the base structure at a point between the counter wheel and base and whereby the bailer line may be gripped and held against movement.

6. In combination with the tubing head of a well casing having fastening screws thereon, a base structure having a lower frusto-conical flanged portion seated within the tubing head and engaged by the fastening screws thereof, a tubular portion extending upwardly therefrom, an upright arm carried by the tubular portion, a counter wheel of relatively large diameter rotatably supported upon the upright arm and having a circumferential groove therein and around which groove a bailer line may be wrapped, an auxiliary arm carried by the upright, and a traction wheel mounted upon the auxiliary arm and being formed with a circumferential rib adapted to extend between the convolutions of the bailer line wrapped around the counter wheel.

7. The structure of claim 6 including means for adjusting said traction wheel and counter wheel with relation to each other, whereby lines of diflerent diameters may be accommodated.

JOHN G. BOUSLOG. 

